Aura Kingdom
by ANIME KINGDOM
Summary: After "the seed" was created Kirito and his friends eventually cleared all 100 floors of Sword Art Online, and now they are delving into a new game. AURA KINGDOM...
1. Welcome to Aura Kingdom

The world seed was a program package that ran a full-dive MMO called the seed, made by Kayaba Akihiko. In essence, anyone with access to a good enough server could download the seed and create their own online world. This revived the dying Virtual MMO Genre. Alfheim Online's data was all transferred to a new company, which still runs it, but Alfheim wasn't the only world born. Smaller companies, and even private individuals, began to run their own virtual game servers. They began to be compatible with one another. And it eventually reached the point where a character created in one game could be transferred to another. And even Sword Art Online was brought back and Kirito and his friends eventually cleared all 100 floors. And now a new game has just been created. "**AURA KINGDOM"**.

"_It's time for this week's MMO stream. We began with a promotional video. And what were all these people waiting in line for? 'AURA KINGDOM' On today's MMO stream we'll we covering the internationally famous 'AURA KINGDOM' AKA 'AK' 'AURA KINGDOM' was made by the great 'AERIA GAMES' And it's a long awaited VR MMORPG. I for one can't wait! The beta testers all gave it great reviews. I wanted a copy so I waited in line for hours just to get one. It sold out online in seconds. And as you saw, all the hard-core fans bought the store copies, like me! Anyway, that's today's MMO stream, back to you in the studio Sarah"_ Said the MMO news reporter.

After watching the MMO news report Kirito switched off the TV, plugged in the NERVE GEAR and put it on his head.

_12:59_

_13:00_

"Link start!" Said Kirito.

_Language- Japanese._

_Log in_:: :account_

_:password_

_Character creation_

_Beta test data still available._

_Would you like to use it?_

_KIRITO (M)_

_**YES **__ NO _

**WELCOME TO AURA KINGDOM! **

"I'm back In this world!" Said Kirito with a big smile on his face as he spawned into the beautiful world of Aura Kingdom.

**PORT SCANDIA**

Kirito ran through the starting area called Port Scandia with glee

"Hey Kirito!" Said an all too familiar voice

"Oh hey Klein" Said Kirito.

"I assume you were in the beta test for this game?" Questioned Klein.

"Yeah I was" Said Kirito.

"Today's my first day, show me the basics okay?" Asked Klein.

"Okay sure" Said Kirito.

Than Kirito and Klein went into the bright green fields of Port Scandia to show Klein the basics of the game. Kirito decided to teach Klein by getting him to do a beginner quest in the green fields, defeat 4 bunnyhops and 3 mischievous bunnyhops.

Bunnyhops are pink rabid looking bunnies with green tips on their flame like ears, pink eyes, hands and feet, they are bipedal.

Mischievous bunnyhops are similar to regular bunnyhops accept they are completely red accept for their eyes which are yellow.

Klein found them easy to defeat.

"Wow, this game's controls are almost identical to sword art Online's" Said Klein.

"Yeah, I know, the only difference is there are no sword skills" Said Kirito.

"Yeah" Said Klein.

Than Klein defeated another bunnyhop.

_Result_

_Exp 24_

_Gold 30_

_Items 2_

"So Kirito, are there heaps of skills in this game like in SAO?" Asked Klein.

"Yeah, but a major difference in this game to SAO is that there is magic, in that respect it's like Alfheim online" Said Kirito.

"Yeah well I'm glad this game has magic, if you ask me an RPG always needs magic" Said Klein.

"You know Klein, I'm really glad the VR MMORPG Genre survived" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, me too, the world wouldn't be the same without them" Said Klein.

"Okay, let's head to the next one" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, let's keep going!" Said Klein happily.


	2. A little talk

Kirito and Klein did a little more fighting with bunnyhops for a while and then they sat down and talked.

"You know Kirito, after being trapped in SAO for two years I think being in a game just feels like regular life now" Said Klein.

"Yeah, I guess you just grow accustomed to the virtual world" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, I'm really glad I was born in this time" Said Klein.

"Yes Klein you've said that before" Said Kirito.

"Oh right, hey by the way Kirito, how do you always get into the beta tests for these games? You're so lucky" Said Klein.

"Well there are special places where game developers look for beta testers for their games, you just have to find out where they are and show the developers that you're a passionate gamer, than you should get into the beta" Said Kirito.

"So that's your secret, anyway, how far did you get in the beta for this game?" Asked Klein.

"Over a couple of months I got to Ventos Prairie, the eighth location in the game, but this time it'll only take a month" Said Kirito.

"Ha, I think you're more into this game than SAO" Said Klein.

"Well I don't know if I'd go that far, but we'll see, and you know something Klein? I still feel more alive in the virtual world than I do in the real world" Said Kirito.

"Ha, some things will never change" Said Klein.

"Ha, I guess not, now then, want to hunt some more?" Asked Kirito.

"Of course! I'd love to, although I am pretty hungry, I'm gonna log out" Said Klein.

"Let me guess, you ordered a pizza for 5:30" Said Kirito.

"Yep, you know me too well Kirito" Said Klein.

"Well you make it pretty easy" Said Kirito.

"Ha-ha, I guess, anyway, once I've eaten I'll be back" Said Klein.

"Right" Said Kirito.

"Hey, after this I'm meeting up with some people I know from another game, by the way, it's an awesome game, you should play it" Said Klein.

"Maybe I will after I finish this game, what's it called?" Asked Kirito.

"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, it's really good" Said Klein.

"Shouldn't I start with the first elder scrolls game?" Asked Kirito.

"Well you could but the quality is basically terrible in all the games in the series until Skyrim" Said Klein.

"Okay than" Said Kirito.

"Anyway, want to friend the other guys too? Or are you still too afraid to?" Asked Klein with a touch of sarcasm.

"Ha, not anymore Klein, I'll friend them, thanks for the invite" Said Kirito.

"No sweat, and hey, I'll repay you for the help" Said Klein.

"Don't worry about it" Said Kirito.

"Okay, I'll see you soon man" Said Klein.

"Yeah, for sure" Said Kirito.

Then Klein swiped his hand to bring up the main menu.

"Huh? Where's the logout button?" Asked Klein.

"You know where it is, you've been using it for years" Said Kirito.

"No I mean it's not there" Said Klein.

"What do you mean not there? It has to be there" Said Kirito as he swiped his hand to bring up the main menu. But Klein was right. There was no logout button.

"See? Not there" Said Klein.

"No, not again, it couldn't be" Said Kirito to himself.

"Well uh… It is the first day out of beta t-there have to be bugs right?" Asked Klein nervously.

"Oh by the way Klein, it's 5:25" Said Kirito.

"No! My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!" Klein cried out in terror.

"Just hurry and call the game master" Said Kirito.

"I tried, nothing's happening, is there any other way to logout? I mean after the SAO incident I'm sure they must have made an emergency logout button" Said Klein.

"Well they should have but no one seems to have thought of it" Said Kirito.

"So I guess we just have to wait for someone to fix the bug" Said Klein.

"Or for someone in the real world to remove the nerve gear from us" Said Kirito.

"Well I have a girlfriend now, when she gets home she'll remove the nerve gear from me, she usually wants attention from me as soon as she gets home, that's why she hates me playing these games, 'it always takes me away from her' as she puts it" Said Klein.

"Well my mom or my sister will remove the nerve gear from me, they should notice by dinner time, but here's what I'm worried about, Klein, what if it's happening again?" Said Kirito.

"No way, it's probably just a bug" Said Klein.

"It isn't just a bug, if they wanted to, they could just shut down the server and log everyone out, but there isn't even an announcement" Said Kirito. But just than Kirito, Klein and all the other Aura Kingdom players got teleported to the centre of Port Scandia…


	3. Kayaba returns (A new death game)

"A forced teleport, this is all too familiar" Said Kirito with worry.

"Hey Kirito, up their" Said Klein gesturing toward the virtual sky.

_WARNING, SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT_

"What is that?" Asked Klein as red sludge materialised from the sky, but when it took its form everyone immediately know who it was, well, at least everyone who had played Sword Art Online. All SAO players immediately recognised the faceless man with his red hooded cloak.

"No, it's him again, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be, all the facts go against it, how could it be him?" Kirito asked himself in shock.

"Attention players, welcome to my world" Said the man.

"His world? He didn't even create this game" Said Kirito.

"Everyone who played Sword Art Online should know me, the rest of you have probably never heard of me, my name is Kayaba Akihiko, now I know it was said in the media that I had died, but really my consciousness was simply transferred into the virtual world, anyway, as of this moment I am the sole person who can control this world? How you ask? Because I created the seed, the MMO that allows people with a good enough server to create their own virtual world, so since I am its creator, I can become the game master of any game created through the seed, it was just a matter of choosing a game that I wanted to control, and I have chosen Aura Kingdom, and ironically many Sword Art Online players have also decide to play this game, now I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu" Said Kayaba as he swiped his hand bringing up the main menu. "But this is not a defect in the game, I repeat, this is not a defect in the game, it is a new feature of Aura Kingdom that I have created" Said Kayaba.

"Kayaba you bastard!" Kirito murmured to himself.

"You can no longer log out of Aura Kingdom yourselves, and no one on the outside can shut down or remove the nerve gear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the nerve gear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life" Said Kayaba.

"Kayaba!" Kirito murmured in anger.

People then attempted to walk away but failed.

"Kirito, this can't be happening again can it?" Asked Klein in fear.

"I'm afraid so Klein, I don't know why, but it is happening again" Said Kirito.

"But this is crazy, it can't be happening again!" Said Klein, resisting against the situation.

"I'm sorry Klein but it is, you're just going to have to accept it" Said Kirito.

"Luckily, after the SAO incident player's friends and families have listened to this warning and have not attempted to remove the nerve gear, unlike the SAO incident where due to players friends and families ignoring the warning two hundred and thirteen players died" Said Kayaba.

"I can't believe it's happening again, I just can't believe it!" Said Klein, still resisting the situation.

"Klein stop resisting this and just accept it, if you don't than you're going to die!" Said Kirito.

"Right" Said Klein reluctantly.

"Now I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game, but I want you to remember this clearly, there is no longer any method to revive someone within the game, if your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost, and simultaneously, the nerve gear will destroy your brain" Said Kayaba.

"I swear Kayaba… NO ONE WILL DIE THIS TIME!" Kirito screamed out.

Kayaba ignored Kirito and kept talking. "There is only one means of escape, to complete the game; you are currently in the first area of Aura Kingdom, Port Skandia. I have also put bosses into the game, because the game was too easy, now if you defeat the area's boss than you may advance to the next level, defeat the final boss in the dimensional belt you will clear the game" Said Kayaba.

"I'll do it, I'LL DO IT!" Kirito shouted at the top of his lungs.

"But it's impossible. The beta testers never made it anywhere near that high!" Said Klein.

"That's what you said about SAO, but we got out Klein, we got out of SAO, and we'll get out of AK, I promise" Said Kirito.

"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage, please see for yourselves" Said Kayaba.

"Ha, so Kayaba still wants us looking like our true selves, I really don't know why, but anyway, I never made an avatar, me and Asuna stick with our real looks to give the virtual world just that little bit of realism" Said Kirito. Now by the time Kirito looked back at Klein he looked like his real self.

"Wha? What happened?" Asked Klein.

"Ah, Klein, don't you remember? Kayaba did the same thing in SAO" Said Kirito.

"Oh, right, it's been so long I forgot, but I still don't understand the point of doing that" Said Klein.

"I don't either; wonder if he'll tell us this time" Said Kirito.

"Right now you're probably wondering why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer or Sword Art Online, the Nerve Gear and the Seed do all this? Well it's for the same reason that I did this in SAO, and this time I will tell you that reason, it's because I want to create a new world, a world where people can live just the same as in the real world but with special abilities, the ability to do household tasks with ease, weapons, action, basically I want to make everyday life just like a game, that is why I am doing this and it is the real reason I did this in SAO as well, and the reason I am not doing this in SAO again is because I want to make sure that people can live their everyday lives in all games, this is a test for that, so even if you complete the game and escape Aura Kingdom, than I will disable your nerve gear before you can take it off and escape the virtual world completely, than I will reboot your nerve gear which will than give you a choice of games to live your life in, so you may get away from Aura Kingdom, but know this, you will never escape the virtual world, and when I have you permanently trapped, I will transport the rest of the world into the virtual world with my new virtual technology, you are just the start, you will thank me for this when you begin to see how much better life is in the virtual world" Said Kayaba.

"Kayaba!" Kirito murmured to himself.

"And now it is complete, this ends the tutorial for the official Aura Kingdom launch, good luck players" Said Kayaba, and with that, he disappeared.

"It's happening again, it's really happening again! And it's worse this time, even if we do escape **this **game, were still trapped in the virtual world, and the rest of the world is next, no one is safe from Kayaba's madness" Kirito said to himself.

Than the chaos began, everyone went into a riot; the madness of Sword Art Online was beginning again in the world of Aura Kingdom.

"Come with me Klein" Said Kirito, than he took Klein with him into an ally of Port Skandia. "Listen to me, I'm making my way through Port Skandia right now, come with me, we have to make ourselves as strong as possible Klein, the resources in this game are limited just like in any other MMO, the fields surrounding Port Skandia will be hunted clean, to do this efficiently, we should make our way through Port Skandia now, I know all the paths and dangerous areas, even at level 1 I can get their safely" Said Kirito.

"Kirito, my friends are out there, in the centre of Port Skandia, I can't leave them" Said Klein.

"Okay, well I've changed since SAO, let's go meet up with them and move out of here" Said Kirito.

"For real?" Asked Klein to make sure Kirito meant it.

"Yeah, it might be fun to meet some new people" Said Kirito.

"Sweet" Said Klein.

"Were going to survive in this world Klein, all of us, no one will die this time, I swear it!" Said Kirito.

"Right!" Said Klein.


	4. Klein's friends

_Authors note: Sorry guys, short chapter this time but I just thought I'd introduce Klein's friends in this chapter and then move on to the action in the next chapter._

Kirito and Klein went back to the centre of Port Skandia to meet up with Klein's friends.

"Kirito, this is Ajax, Baline and Carly" Said Klein.

"Hi" Said Kirito as he gave Klein's friends the once over. Ajax had black hair covering his face and brown eyes. He had a small smile on his face. Baline had short brown hair and green eyes; he had a big goofy smile attached to him. And Carly had long black hair and brown eyes and she had a big smirk on her face that looked ready for action.

"What's up man?" Asked Ajax.

"Ah, nothing, how about you?" Asked Kirito.

"Ha, nothing yet, but we'd better be ready for action soon" Said Ajax.

"Right" Said Kirito.

"Hey man, how's it hang- ahh!" Said Baline as he tripped over his feet on the way to walk over and shake Kirito's hand.

"Ah, better than you I guess" Said Kirito.

"Ugh, don't mind him, he's a clutz, hey dude, you ready for some fun?" Asked Carly.

"Well I don't think I'd call it fun but yeah I'm ready" Said Kirito.

"Okay than, let's go!" Said Klein.

"Right!" Said Kirito.


	5. Briefing for the boss

"One month has passed since the game began, during that time, two thousand people have died, I can't believe it, and I promised no one would die this time!" Kirito yelled.

"Kirito you can't stop everyone from dying at the same time, it's impossible" Said Ajax.

"BUT IT'S NOT FAIR!" Kirito screamed out. All of his friends patted him on the back trying to cheer him up.

"So far no one has been able to clear Port Skandia, I was a beta tester, and even I haven't found the boss room, Kayaba's done a good job of hiding it, but today that all changes, today were finally holding a meeting on how to defeat the first boss, hopefully I will find Asuna there, I haven't seen her the whole time we've been playing this game" Said Kirito.

Than all players met in the centre of Port Skandia.

"Okay, let's get started people! Thank you for coming today. My name is Adrian" Said the speaker for this meeting. Adrian had blonde hair and blue eyes. "Today our party found the boss room at the top of the tower. We need to defeat the boss and get to Helonia Coast, and tell everyone waiting in Port Skandia, that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty. Do you all agree?" Asked Adrian. Everyone nodded and applauded at the speech. "All right, then let's begin the planning, first divide into parties of six, it's always better to go in raid groups to take down bosses" Said Adrian.

Kirito searched for a few seconds and then he found Asuna. He walked over to her.

"Asuna! I finally found you! I'm so glad you're safe!" Said Kirito as he trapped Asuna in a tight hug.

"Kirito, I'm so happy to finally see you, everything feels okay now" Said Asuna, than she passionately kissed Kirito. Everything was suddenly perfect for the two of them, like all the bad things that were happening just washed away.

"Okay guys don't forget we still have to take down that boss" Said Ajax.

"Right" Kirito and Asuna said in unison as they smiled at each other, lost in each other's eyes.

"Okay, now, this guide book I have in my hand contains information on the boss, it seems the boss's name is The Centaur of Greece" Said Adrian.

"Well that's not very original" Said Klein.

"Maybe the maniacs out of ideas after SAO" Said Carly.

"I doubt it; I think Kayaba's probably just taken an interest in Greek mythology" Said Kirito.

"The Centaur is guarded by Greek soldiers, he is armed with a spear and a sword, he has four health bars, this concludes the briefing, oh and one last thing, EXP goes to the party that defeats the centaur and whoever receives an item keeps it, any objections?" Asked Adrian. No one said anything. "Okay, we leave tomorrow at ten in the morning, see you their!" Said Adrian.


	6. The Centaur of Greece

"Okay listen up everyone, I have only one thing to say, let's win!" Said Adrian. Everyone cheered. "Okay, let's go!" Said Adrian.

Everyone walked into the boss room, staring face to face with the centaur, the half man half horse of Greek mythology. But no sooner then they looked at it, it sprang into action, leaping over to the players, and then hoards of Greek soldiers appeared. They all attacked at once.

"Attack!" Shouted Adrian. Then everyone followed Adrian's orders and sprang into action. Everyone slashing swords with the soldiers and the Centaur. Soon enough all the soldiers were defeated, only the Centaur remained, and it only had one health bar remaining, the players had severely weakened it already, but this just made it more savage. It was about to charge against everyone and most likely devastate the player forces.

"Everybody stay back, I've got this!" Said Baline as he charged against the Centaur.

"Baline wait!" Shouted Kirito, but it was too late, Baline was already on his way to attack the Centaur, than it got out a different weapon.

"No! That's the chillrend, it's a weapon in Skyrim, but how could a Skyrim weapon be in this game?" Asked Klein.

"Skyrim was created through the seed just like all the other VR MMO's, and Kayaba created the seed so he can access Skyrim and take whichever weapon he wants from that game or any other game and add it to Aura Kingdom" Said Kirito with worry.

"Oh no! Baline get back!" Shouted Klein

"No chance! This boss is going down!" Said Baline. Then he attempted to pierce the Centaurs heart with his sword, but the Centaur struck his arm with the Chillrend. Paralysing the arm for two seconds, long enough for the Centaur to pierce Baline's heart with the Chillrend, killing him.

"NO! BALINE!" Shouted Kirito as he ran up to Baline.

"K-Kirito" Baline struggled to say.

"Dammit Baline why did you try to do it alone?" Asked Kirito.

"I-I had to take it down" Baline said in pain.

"Baline we were meant to do that together" Said Kirito.

"Ha, well when have I ever listened to anyone?" Asked Baline. Kirito put on a brave smile for Baline. "Kirito, please, p-please defeat the boss, s-save everyone" Said Baline in pain but with a smile as he faded away into death.

Kirito clenched his sword in anger. Asuna held his hand.

"We'll do it together Kirito" Said Asuna.

"Right, thanks Asuna, I love you" Said Kirito.

"I'm always here for you Kirito, I love you too" Said Asuna. Then she kissed him.

Then the two of them swung into action. Kirito clashed his sword hard against the Centaur's, throwing it off balance for a second but it quickly got its strength back and swung it's sword towards Kirito, luckily he blocked with his sword and only got knocked into Asuna. However this still drained Kirito's health, it was almost in the yellow, and the Centaur was getting ready to plunge its sword into Kirito's heart. But luckily the rest of the strike force defended Kirito and swung their swords at the Centaur, it managed to block all their swords but it still got knocked back.

"Go!" Said Agil, and the players obeyed and charged against the Centaur. "We'll hold it off until you two recover" Said Agil.

"You're the best Agil" Said Kirito with a smile.

The centaur managed to hold them all off and was about to plunge its sword into Agil's heart.

"I don't think so, no one else here died! I'll kill you first!" Kirito screamed out. Then he hit the Centaur's side with his sword, it was a hard enough hit to send it flying back. "Asuna, one last hit!" Shouted Kirito.

"Right!" Said Asuna. Then the two of them attacked together, the Centaur couldn't defend against the absolute might of these two and they sliced through its chest, destroying the creature. Than everyone cheered.

_Congratulation_

_You got the last attacking bonus!_

_BONUS ITEM_

_Assassins Hood_

"Great job Kirito" Said Asuna, then she gave him a victory kiss.

"Yeah, great job kid, this victory belongs to you and Asuna" Said Agil.

"Why did you let Baline die?" Kirito asked Klein.

"What? Let him die?" Klein asked in confusion.

"You knew what that weapon did; you played Skyrim, why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have let him attack alone!" Said Kirito in anger.

"Kirito no one can stop Baline from doing something you know that" Said Klein.

"I COULD HELPED HIM!" Shouted Kirito.

"No, you would have died too" Said Klein.

"I DON'T CARE, I WOULD HAVE TRIED!" Shouted Kirito.

"Hey just calm down Kirito" Said Agil.

"O-okay, I'm… I'm sorry Klein" Said Kirito.

"I'm sorry too" Said Klein. Then they shook hands.

The first boss was defeated. But the game wasn't finished yet, Aura Kingdom still had to be completed…


	7. New areas in Aura Kingdom

"So Kirito, we're already in a group, why not make a guild?" Asked Ajax.

"Okay, sure" Said Kirito.

"Sweet" Said Ajax. So together Kirito, Asuna, Klein, Ajax and Carly formed a guild, and they named this guild the 'Warriors of Aura'.

The Warriors of Aura made their way through all the known areas of Aura Kingdom in no time, but there was still more ground to cover.

"But how could this be? Ozymand temple was the last area on the Aura Kingdom map, we should have been teleported to the dimensional belt" Said Klein.

"Unless Kayaba added new areas to the game too, knowing him there are probably 100 areas in this game now" Said Kirito.

"Just like there were 100 floors in SAO?" Questioned Klein.

"Exactly, so let's go through this door and see what surprise Kayaba has for us next" Said Kirito. So they all went through the door. The sign in front of them read: _Location 20: Sea of trees. _"Hmm, sea of trees, there is a forest in Japan that people call the sea of trees, it's real name is Aokigahara, it's also been called the suicide forest, I think Kayaba's trying to tell us something" Said Kirito.

"Oh come on, Kayaba probably just thought the name sounded pretty, I mean I think he likes pretty things" Said Klein.

"Well I think he likes death, and I think that's what he wants for us here, but at any rate, let's keep moving" Said Kirito. So they kept moving through the forest. Then they ran into a monster. Above its head was its name: _Ravenous cicada. _And it wasn't just ravenous. It was a giant brown cicada.

"Boy Kayaba's taking a lot of inspiration from the real world in this game" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, I think he needs help" Said Klein.

"I bet that's what he thinks about us right now, let's prove him wrong!" Said Kirito.

The cicada was about to attack Carly.

"Carly, get back!" Shouted Kirito. Then he swooped in and cut off its leg, causing it to collapse.

"Ajax, switch!" Said Kirito.

"Right!" Said Ajax. Then Ajax sliced his sword through the cicada and cut it in half, destroying it.

_Result_

_EXP 352_

_Gold 180_

_Items 1_

Everyone cheered.


	8. A talk between warriors

_Authors Note: Sorry about the short chapter guys, I just thought I'd deepen Kirito's friendship with Ajax._

"You know Kirito, you always say you're going to protect us all, but you know were here to protect you too" Said Ajax.

"I know Ajax, thank you that really means a lot to me" Said Kirito.

"No sweat, I mean it" Said Ajax.

"We're going to make it through this game Ajax, I promise" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, for sure, but even if we do, Kayaba's going to trap us in the virtual world, so aren't we still screwed no matter what we do? I don't know, sometimes I just wonder what we're fighting for" Said Ajax.

"Ajax when the time comes we're going to stop Kayaba before he gets the chance to trap us in the virtual world, I promise that too" Said Kirito.

"Thanks for the confidence boost Kirito, but you'd better stop making promises, one of these days you're going to make a promise you can't keep" Said Ajax.

"Ha, not if I have anything to say about it" Said Kirito.


	9. Looking out for Carly

A while later the guild got to area 28: Ezo plains.

"There is an extinct wolf in Japan called the Hokkaido wolf, people also call it the Ezo wolf, just another part of the real world that's inspired Kayaba, and yet he wants people to live in a virtual world" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, too weird" Said Klein.

After levelling up a bit Kirito went for a walk in the Ezo plains and accidentally ran into someone.

"Oh sorry, I'm a little distracted tonight" Said Kirito.

"Yeah well with the situation we're all in right now I wouldn't be surprised if you were always distracted" Said the boy who looked around the same age as Kirito, black hair, green eyes with a slightly serious looking face.

"Yeah, I see your point" Said Kirito. Then Kirito got a message. "Ah, sorry, I've gotta check this" Said Kirito.

"Hey no problem, I'm heading off anyway, later man" Said the boy.

"Seya" Said Kirito. Then the boy began to walk away and Kirito checked the message.

_Kirito, it's Ajax, Carly left a little while after you left and we haven't seen her since, we're heading to the dungeon area, if you see Carly let me know._

"Oh Carly, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Kirito thought out loud. Then Kirito swiped his hand to bring up the main menu and he pressed the track button. Allowing him to find Carly. She was in a sewer in the Ezo underground.

"Carly" Said Kirito.

"Kirito?" Questioned Carly.

"Everyone's worried about you, I am too" Said Kirito.

"Hey Kirito, let's get out of here" Said Carly.

"What? Why?" Asked Kirito.

"I'm sick of these plains, I want to go back to Port Skandia, that place is alive, these plains are dull" Said Carly.

"You're not going to die Carly" Said Kirito.

"What? Who said anything about dying?" Asked Carly in surprise.

"Carly you just said you want to go to a place that's more alive, that means you want to stay alive, you're afraid to die, you act strong in front of all of us but you're secretly afraid, but you don't have to be Carly" Said Kirito.

"R-really? How can you possibly know that for sure?" Asked Carly, she was beginning to open up to Kirito.

"We have a strong guild Carly, and both Ajax and I consider you to be like a sister to us, we will protect you until the end" Said Kirito.

"Thank you Kirito, that means a lot to me, you and Ajax are like my big brothers, but Kirito even if we complete this game we're still gonna be stuck in the virtual world" Said Carly.

"Carly I went through this with Ajax in the sea of trees, we're going to stop Kayaba before he can trap us in the virtual world, I promised Ajax and I'm promising you too" Said Kirito.

"Thank you Kirito that really means a lot to me" Said Carly.

"No problem, I mean it, I'll protect all of you Carly, I promise" Said Kirito.

"Thanks Kirito, you're the best, but Ajax is right Kirito, you really do make too many promises" Said Carly.

"Ha, we'll see" Said Kirito.


	10. Devastated forces

"Hey guys, let's take on the boss now" Said Ajax.

"Are you sure we're ready?" Asked Kirito.

"Yeah, of course" Said Ajax.

"Okay then, let's go" Said Kirito.

Then the guild entered the dungeon of the Ezo plains and inside was a treasure chest.

"Sweet!" Said Ajax. Then everyone but Kirito cheered and followed him to the chest.

"Guys wait! It's a trap!" Shouted Kirito. But it was too late Ajax opened the chest. An alarm went off, the doors of the dungeon shut and hoards of Greek soldiers appeared, it wasn't quite a boss, more like a mini boss consisting of the boss's usual backup. "We have to get out of here!" Shouted Kirito.

"Teleport: Star sand dessert!" Said Ajax. But nothing happened.

"We can't teleport!" Said Carly.

"This must be an anti-teleportation area" Said Kirito.

Kirito and the others slashed their swords against the Greek soldiers. But not everyone could withstand the hordes of soldiers, they killed Ajax.

"NO!" Kirito screamed out at the top of his lungs.

Carly was struggling. "Carly hold on!" Shouted Kirito.

"Kirito, help me!" Shouted Carly. But Kirito couldn't, the soldiers were blocking him from getting to Carly.

"Carly! Hang in their!" Shouted Kirito. But Carly couldn't do it, without her friends to help her she wasn't strong enough, one of the soldiers sliced through her back and killed her.

"NO!" Kirito screamed even louder.

"Kirito, don't stop fighting!" Shouted Asuna.

"R-right" Said Kirito with reluctance. Then Kirito, Asuna and Klein fought as hard as they could and destroyed all of the soldiers.

"T-their gone, their gone, they were like my siblings and their gone, IT'S NOT FAIR!" Kirito screamed out.

"I know Kirito, they were all my friends, Ajax, Baline and Carly, and their all gone, no Kirito, it isn't fair" Said Klein with great sorrow.

"I'm sorry guys" Said Asuna with sadness.

It was a sad day, the five warriors of Aura, were diminished to three.


	11. A second chance for Carly?

_December 24, 2025._

Kirito, Asuna and Klein made it to area 49: Tokoyo.

"Tokoyo, it's just a play on Tokyo, it's obvious because this city looks just like Tokyo, another real world reference from Kayaba, is he trying to tell us that this world can be just like the real world?" Asked Kirito.

"Kirito stop worrying about Kayaba, its Christmas tomorrow" Said Klein.

"What does it matter Klein? We should be celebrating Christmas in the real world, not in Aura Kingdom" Said Kirito.

"Kirito at least you're with your friends" Said Klein.

"Yeah Kirito, more importantly you're with me" Said Asuna with a smile. Then she playfully kissed Kirito, he smiled and did the same back.

"Hey dude, I heard two of your guild member died a while ago, sorry to hear that" Said the boy Kirito met in the Ezo plains.

"It's okay; hey I met you on Ezo plains didn't I?" Asked Kirito.

"Yeah, and I have some valuable information for you" Said the boy.

"Really? Why would you tell me? What's in it for you?" Asked Kirito.

"Ha, you're smart kid, look I'll come clean, I want to join your guild" Said the boy.

"Really? Why?" Asked Kirito.

"There's strength in numbers, I want to get through this game and take down Kayaba before he can trap us in the virtual world and I want to do it as soon as possible" Said the boy.

"Okay, I like the sound of you, welcome to the warriors of Aura" Said Kirito.

"Thank you, oh and by the way, I'm Zeke" Said the boy.

"I'm Kirito, this is Klein and Asuna" Said Kirito.

"Hi" Said Zeke.

"Hey" Said Asuna.

"How ya doing?" Asked Klein.

"Okay, how about you?" Asked Zeke.

"Great" Said Klein.

"I can't see how you could be great under these circumstances" Said Zeke.

"Optimism, it helps" Said Klein.

"So I've heard, anyway Kirito, it seems Kayaba's brought one of the Sword Art Online special events to Aura Kingdom" Said Zeke.

"Really? Which one?" Asked Kirito.

"Nicholas the renegade" Said Zeke. Then like a flash Kirito took off.

"Kirito wait!" Shouted Asuna.

Kirito stopped. "I need to bring Carly back, just to say I'm sorry I broke my promise to her" Said Kirito.

"But there's more, Kayaba has modified the item that Nicholas drops so that it can bring back a person forever" Said Zeke.

"Really?" Kirito asked with shock.

"Yes" Said Zeke. Then Kirito bolted off again.

"Kirito wait up!" Shouted Klein.

Kirito stopped again. "Wait, I think I know where it is, teleport: Labyrinth wall!" Said Kirito. The Labyrinth wall surprisingly was not actually inspired from the real world; it was straight from Kayaba's mind.

Kirito emerged their and his friends soon emerged too, then Nicholas appeared, it was time to bring Carly back…


	12. Carly lives again

_Authors note: Sorry about the short chapter, but this was an emotional moment that I had to put in._

Kirito, Asuna and Klein fiercely attacked at Nicholas until he was no more. Then Kirito activated the revival item, a bright light flashed in front of them and Carly appeared before them once again.

"Merry Christmas Kirito" Carly said happy to see him again.

Kirito hugged her as tight as he could, Asuna got a little jealous. "Carly, I'm so glad you're back!" Said Kirito, tears were emerging from his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault Kirito, it wasn't your fault that I died, the fault went to none of you, none of you could get to me, the soldiers were blocking you, besides, I should have been strong enough to survive on my own, I'll have to work on that" Said Carly.

"No, you won't, because you'll never have to fight alone again, I pro-"Kirito said.

"No Kirito, no more promises, I know it hurt you deeply when I died because you felt like you had broken your promise to me that you would always protect me, me and Ajax both warned you that one day you wouldn't be able to keep a promise that you made, but you didn't listen, so please Kirito, save yourself the pain and listen to me now, no more promises" Said Carly.

"Okay Carly" Said Kirito with a smile.


	13. Kirito and Asuna at home

The guild had just worked together to defeat a high level monster known as the Amphisbaena. The amphisbaena was depicted in Greek mythology as a snake with a head at each end.

_Exp 8120_

_Gold 1000_

_Items 00_

"Nearly two years have passed have passed since this game began, and Kayaba Akihiko is still out there somewhere watching this world, watching us live in this world for his little test" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, it's sick" Said Asuna.

"Relax; we'll take him out when the time comes" Said Zeke.

"I like this kid" Said Carly.

"Okay guys, me and Asuna are going home for today, we'll meet back here in Biwa lake, yet another name taken from the real world" Said Kirito.

"Let it go Kirito" Said Klein.

"Whatever, anyway, see you guys tomorrow" Said Kirito. Everyone said goodbye and then Kirito and Asuna went to their home in area 22: Beech forest, the name derived of course from a forest in Japan.

"You know it takes skill to cook a mischievous bunnyhop, that's why everyone just kills them in Port Skandia, but my cooking skills maxed out in this game just like in SAO, so I'll cook that for us tonight Kirito" Said Asuna.

"Awesome" Said Kirito happily.

Asuna tapped on the dead bunnyhop with her knife and it got cut into pieces. Then she put the pieces of bunnyhop into the pot.

"Cooking in Aura Kingdom is just as boring as it is in SAO" Said Asuna.

"Hmm, well I think Kayaba must have changed the cooking style for this game because it's too similar to the SAO cooking style" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, you may be right, anyway, I'll make some side dishes" Said Asuna. Then she prepared some vegetables to go along with the bunnyhop stew.

Kirito and Asuna very much enjoyed their bunnyhop stew.

"I can't believe I didn't make this sooner" Said Asuna.

"Me neither" Said Kirito.

"You know it's really strange how alive you feel in the virtual world" Said Asuna.

"We can't think like that Asuna, that's what Kayaba wants, for us to forget about the real world, but we have to remember what a beautiful place the real world is" Said Kirito.

"But Kirito we're never going to get back their anyway, when we complete Aura Kingdom Kayaba's just going to trap our minds in the virtual world before we can take the nerve gear off our heads" Said Asuna.

"You know I seem to have to tell everyone this Asuna, we're going to stop Kayaba before he gets the chance to do that" Said Kirito.

"Thanks Kirito, you know you really do help people, especially me" Said Asuna as she rested her head on Kirito's soldier.

"Anything for you Asuna" Said Kirito.

"K-Kirito, are you sure you're happy being in a guild? I know you were a solo player in SAO and Alfheim" Said Asuna.

"That's all in the past Asuna, but what I can't understand is how Kayaba can't understand what a beautiful place the real world is" Said Kirito.

"Well maybe he thinks that in the virtual world there will be no crime" Said Asuna.

"Well if he thinks that then he is definitely wrong, there will be crime in the real world or the virtual world, it can't be stopped just by replacing a knife with a sword, that will just make it worse, and Kayaba still wants people to be able to die, that won't stop the murderers of the real world will it?" Asked Kirito.

"No, you're right, but I still think that may be his motive" Said Asuna.

"Yeah, you could be right there" Said Kirito.


	14. Ex of Asuna

The rest of the guild was back at Biwa Lake with Kirito except for Asuna, they were waiting for her.

"Since when is Asuna late?" Asked Kirito.

"Beats me" Said Klein.

Then Asuna emerged in quite a hurry, running straight to Kirito and hiding behind him.

"Ah… Asuna, what's going on?" Asked Kirito.

"My Ex-boyfriend's after me!" Said Asuna in fear.

"Ex-boyfriend?!" Kirito asked in shock and jealousy.

"Yes Kirito I've had a boyfriend before, sue me!" Shouted Asuna.

"Okay calm down, now why exactly is he after you?" Asked Kirito.

"Um, well, he never exactly got over me when I broke up with him" Said Asuna.

Then Asuna's Ex emerged. He was a skinny guy with black hair and glassy brown eyes, he looked on edge.

"Asuna, you shouldn't act like this, let's go away together" He said.

"No Gilbert! Just leave me alone!" Said Asuna.

"I thought you might resist, so I will just have to take you by force my love" Said Gilbert.

Kirito grabbed Gilbert. "I don't think so, Asuna's with me" Said Kirito.

"You think you're the man for my Asuna? Hell no! A worm like you could never be right for her!" Said Gilbert.

"I beg to differ" Said Kirito.

"YOU CAN BEG FOR YOUR LIFE!" Shouted Gilbert in madness. Then he brought up the main menu and issued a command.

_Duel application_

_Will you accept this duel request?_

_Opponent: Gilbert_

_Type: 1 vs. 1_

_**O **__ X_

_Duel!_

_Gilbert vs Kirito_

_60…_

"Watch carefully Asuna, I'll prove that I'm the only man for you" Said Gilbert.

Kirito said nothing, he just drew his weapon.

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

_Start!_

Kirito and Gilbert clashed swords; Gilbert's sword was cut in half.

"N-no way!" Said Gilbert in shock.

"If you want to try with a different weapon bring it on" Said Kirito.

Gilbert withdrew another sword and charged in. Asuna cut this one in half herself.

"A-Asuna… He cheated! He used some trick to destroy my sword! Otherwise there's no way I could have lost to that worm!" Said Gilbert in shock.

"Gilbert, go away" Said Asuna calmly.

"We're not done Kirito, Asuna will be mine, I assure you, oh and I should tell you, I was one of the developers of the seed, I helped Kayaba create it, and I'll help him trap you all in the virtual world, but Kirito, you're going to end up in the worst game of all, and now I'll take my leave, teleport: Revanos" Said Gilbert. Surprisingly Revanos was straight out of Kayaba's mind.

"He helped create the seed? Well, I thought Kayaba was bad enough, but now we've got your insane Ex-boyfriend who wants to destroy me to contend with" Kirito said to Asuna.

"Hey don't pin this all on me!" Said Asuna.

"I wasn't trying to, but seriously where did you pick that guy up?" Asked Kirito.

"Tokyo, I was visiting the city and I met this cool guy, he wasn't insane at first, but then he just started obsessing over me, it drove him insane, so yeah" Said Asuna.

"Hmm, well he could be a problem but let's not worry about him right now" Said Kirito.

"Good idea" Said Asuna.

_Winner_

_Kirito_

_Time: 1:30_

"I'm sorry Kirito, I didn't mean to involve you in this" Said Asuna.

"As long as you're safe and you're with me that's all that matters" Said Kirito. Then he hugged Asuna with a lot of love.


	15. Zeke's reason to fight

The guild had made it to area 74: Fuji Hills, of course the name was derived from a mountain in Japan. Anyway, the guild had made it too the boss room.

"Well, no use just standing here" Said Kirito. The others nodded and they went into the boss room. Inside was a giant Minotaur of course as the theme for the bosses of this game went; it was called the Minotaur of Greece. I had four health bars. The guild was too few to go against the Minotaur, so they ran away, everyone except for Zeke.

"Zeke we have to get out of here!" Shouted Kirito.

"No! The sooner I get out of this game the sooner I can get back to my little brother! He's in the hospital Kirito, in a coma, he had an accident, and now I'm trapped in this game and I can't see if my brothers okay and I can't be there to see him when he wakes up… If he wakes up, so I'm getting out of this game as soon as possible Kirito! And it starts by taking this beast down!" Shouted Zeke.

"Zeke, I'm sorry I didn't know… But we can't do it alone!" Shouted Kirito.

"You don't have to, I will" Said Zeke.

"Zeke you can't do it alone, you have less of a chance then the whole guild!" Shouted Kirito.

"I don't care; I'm going to see my brother as soon as I can!" Shouted Zeke.

"Fine, then if we must we'll fight to help you" Said Kirito.

"No Kirito, if I die then you are the only major defence the players have left, the rest of the guild need to stay safe" Said Zeke.

"Are you sure?" Asked Kirito.

"Yes Kirito, I won't let you fight" Said Zeke.

"Alright, if you insist "Said Kirito.

"No! I'm helping Zeke, I won't let him die!" Shouted Carly.

Carly went to go in but Kirito grabbed her hand and stopped her. "No Carly, I won't lose you again, it's bad enough that Ajax and Baline are gone forever, I won't lose you again, besides, Zeke's right, we're the last major line of defence for the players of this game, we have to stay alive for them, Zeke's only fighting because he'd rather die than last any longer in this game and not see his little brother, so please Carly, just come with us" Said Kirito.

"F-fine" Said Carly with great reluctance. Then they all left Zeke to fight the Minotaur of Greece alone...


	16. The Minotaur of Greece

The guild retreated to Kirito and Asuna's home.

"That one's gonna be tough to beat" Said Asuna.

"Yeah, I hate to say it but I don't think there's any chance Zeke could have beaten it" Said Kirito.

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Shouted Carly.

"I'm sorry Carly; I didn't mean to hurt you" Said Kirito.

"I know it's just, I don't want anyone else to die" Said Carly.

"I know Carly, believe me, neither do I, and it was extremely hard to leave Zeke but he had to do it himself, he wanted us to beat the game if he died so he never would have let us help" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, that Zeke's a stubborn one" Said Klein.

"Yeah, that's very true, anyway, let's get together with the rest of the players of Aura Kingdom and take that boss down!" Said Kirito.

All of the players of Aura Kingdom rallied together to take on the Minotaur of Greece, and when they walked in the boss room, Zeke was still fighting with it, just barely holding it off, his health bar was in the red.

"Zeke, you're still alive!" Kirito said happily.

"Of course, you didn't think I'd let my all of the players of this game or my brother down did you?" Asked Zeke.

"Ha, well I'm glad you're okay, okay guys, give Zeke some backup and let's take this boss down! It should be easy enough; Zeke's gotten its last health bar into the yellow" Said Kirito.

Asuna charged in first.

"Asuna wait! Oh man she never waits for everyone else; I think she's been around me too long" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, you're a bad influence on people Kirito" Klein said and chuckled.

"Oh shut up Klein" Said Kirito, Klein laughed some more.

Asuna tried to strike her sword at the Minotaur but it just batted her away with its head. It was about to attack her but Kirito blocked its horns with his sword.

"Asuna get back!" Shouted Kirito.

"Come on Zeke, you need to heal" Said Klein as he carried Zeke out of the battle zone.

"Thanks Klein" Said Zeke.

"Don't sweat it" Said Klein.

Kirito sliced his sword through the Minotaur's back but it only did a little damage.

"What the hell? Zeke how long did it take to get its last health bar into the yellow?" Asked Kirito in surprise.

"As long as it took you to get all the players of the game together" Said Zeke.

"Two hours?" Asked Kirito in shock.

"Yep" Said Zeke, sounding irritated.

Kirito and the Minotaur both hacked away at each other again and again.

"We have to help him!" Said Asuna.

"No Asuna, not yet!" Said Kirito.

Asuna stayed back reluctantly. The Minotaur tried to take another swing at Kirito but he dodged it. Then it went for another shot, Kirito blocked it with his sword, the two swords scraped against each other.

"Everyone, I need you all to hold it off for ten seconds!" Shouted Kirito.

Everyone did their best at holding the Minotaur off.

"Okay, ready, switch!" Said Kirito.

Then Kirito switched with everyone else.

"Okay, COSMIC FLARE!" Shouted Kirito. Then he attacked with his sword, and it flashed with an extremely bright white light, and just like that the Minotaur was destroyed.

"What? But I thought this game had no sword skills" Said Klein in surprise.

"A gift from Kayaba to my inventory, I don't know why he gave it to me, but I'm sure I'll find out at some point" Said Kirito.

"So why don't you do that in every fight?" Asked Klein.

"That skill automatically puts my health bar into the red, it's too risky in most fights, but if I didn't use it in this one then we **all** would have died, and that risk is far worse than risking just my life" Said Kirito.

"I don't care, never do that again Kirito, I can't afford to lose you" Said Asuna as she tightly hugged Kirito.

"Don't worry Asuna, I will never leave you, I-"Kirito said.

"Ah, Kirito, remember what I told you" Said Carly.

"Right, no promises, well I'll still do my very best Asuna" Said Kirito.

_CONGRATULATIONS!_

_Result_

_Exp 500_

_Gold 300_

_Items 1_

"Alright Kirito, let's move on" Said Klein.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting out of this boss room" Said Kirito.

"You and me both pal" Said Klein.

"Yeah, but me and Asuna are gonna go home for tonight, we'll meet up with you and the others tomorrow" Said Kirito.

"Sure thing, see you tomorrow" Said Klein.

"Seya guys" Said Kirito.


	17. Asuna gets kidnapped

_Authors note: Sorry about the short chapter, but the action is next._

When Kirito woke up the next morning Asuna wasn't lying next to him, when he went to see where she was he found a note on the coffee table.

_Dearest Kirito,_

_I have kidnapped the lovely Asuna, if you want her back; you're going to have to come see me in Fuji hills, on the way why don't you try to guess who I am? Anyway, until then, I bid you adieu little Kirito._

Kirito nearly went into a full on rage, he rushed straight to Fuji hills.

"Ah Kirito, you're here at last" Said Gilbert as he turned around to face Kirito. Asuna was tied to a chair with her mouth taped over.

"Gilbert, I knew it was you!" Said Kirito in anger.

"Well done Sherlock, now I have a little proposition for you little Kirito" Said Gilbert.

"What?" Asked Kirito, still ready to cut Gilberts head off right then and there.

"How about a little duel? If you win then Asuna is yours" Said Gilbert.

"And if I lose?" Questioned Kirito.

"Then you and Asuna both join my in game army, 'The Aura Army', and you'll both have to do whatever I say" Said Gilbert.

"I accept for Asuna's sake!" Said Kirito.

"And I will win for Asuna's sake" Said Gilbert.

"You've got that backwards" Said Kirito.

"We'll see" Said Gilbert.

"Indeed" Said Kirito.


	18. Kirito and Gilbert's rematch

"You'd better not lose this one Kirito; otherwise you and Asuna are screwed" Said Klein.

"Thanks Klein, no pressure or anything" Said Kirito.

_Will you accept this duel request?_

_Opponent: Gilbert_

_Type: 1 vs. 1_

_**O **__ X_

DUEL

Gilbert vs Kirito

60…

Kirito and Gilbert both drew their weapons.

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

_START_

Kirito charged in and stuck at Gilbert. But Gilbert blocked it with his huge shield. Kirito struck again and again but every time Gilbert's shield blocked it. Eventually the shield threw Kirito back. Then Gilbert swung into action and hit Kirito in the stomach with his shield, knocking him back. He went to do it again but Kirito blocked it with his sword. Then they struck at each other again and again, each time blocking each other's attacks.

"Man, no one's going to win at this rate" Said Klein.

"Yeah it's a real stalemate" Said Zeke.

"What can we do?" Asked Carly.

"There's nothing we can do, all we can do is watch" Said Zeke.

"Well that just sucks" Said Carly.

"Yeah, I know" Said Zeke.

Kirito managed to break through Gilberts defence and pierce him a little. But after that Gilbert just kept blocking Kirito's attacks just like before. Then Kirito was about to break through again but Gilbert somehow paused time long enough to avoid Kirito's attack. Kirito was unaware that Gilbert had done this; he just assumed that he had missed. Then Gilbert stabbed Kirito in the arm hard enough to bring his health bar into the yellow and unfortunately for Kirito, Gilbert also made them agree to make it so that the first player who's health bar gets into the yellow is the loser.

_Winner_

_Gilbert_

_Time: 1:31_

"Welcome to the Aura Army Kirito, you and Asuna will love it with me" Gilbert said as he laughed extremely hard.

"No, no!" Kirito shouted.

"This is bad, who knows what he will do Kirito and Asuna, and he will never let us join the army" Said Zeke.

"I guess we're on our own in the guild, at least for a while" Said Klein.

"Yeah, looks that way" Said Zeke.

"This just sucks!" Shouted Carly.

"I know" Said Zeke.


	19. Suiting up for the army

The headquarters of the Aura Army were in Area 50: Manaros, surprisingly from Kayaba's own mind. Anyway, Kirito had just put on his new army uniform. The uniform was just a bright green shirt and pants.

"This is horrible" Said Kirito.

"You think it's horrible? Green looks even worse on a skirt!" Said Asuna.

"You know Asuna, if you ditched this loser and went back to me where you belong then you could wear whatever you want" Said Gilbert.

"I wouldn't even touch you to get out of this game" Said Asuna.

"You will see things differently soon enough" Said Gilbert. Then Gilbert walked off.

"I hope the rest of the guilds doing okay" Said Kirito.

"Yeah me too, but Zeke will take care of Klein and Carly, he's like the father of the guild" Said Asuna.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, he's definitely like family to me, everyone in the guild is" Said Kirito.

"Same here" Said Asuna.

"It still hurts knowing Baline and Ajax are gone" Said Kirito.

"I know I feel it too" Said Asuna.

"But no one else is going to die, not if I can help it, I can't promise it, but I will do what I can, I assure you of that" Said Kirito.

"I know Kirito" Said Asuna.


	20. Kirito needs training?

Gilbert called in Kirito.

"So you want me trained?" Asked Kirito.

"Yes, you'll form a party with me, and we'll defeat the boss of area 75" Said Gilbert.

"Just the two of us? How do you know we're strong enough? Have you seen the boss yet?" Asked Kirito.

"No but I know my own skills and I have seen yours, trust me, we can do it together" Said Gilbert.

"If you insist" Kirito said reluctantly.

"Gilbert let me come along!" Said Asuna.

"No my sweet Asuna, this is a man's job" Said Gilbert.

"If you weren't working with Kayaba I would crush you right now" Said Asuna.

"I'm sure you would my darling, now, we shall meet at the HQ gate in thirty minutes Kirito" Said Gilbert. Then Gilbert walked off.

"I'll be back soon Asuna, don't worry" Said Kirito.

"Please be careful Kirito, you know he's a snake" Said Asuna.

"Ha, of course I know that Asuna, anyway, I'll head off now, I love you" Kirito said.

"Bye, I love you too" Said Asuna. Then the two kissed and Kirito walked off.


	21. Gilbert's training methods

Kirito met Gilbert at the gate of the Aura Army headquarters.

"Okay Kirito, today I'm going to assess your reactions to different situations so I'd like you to switch off your teleportation ability" Said Gilbert.

"What? How can I trust you?" Asked Kirito.

"Trust has nothing to do with this, I am your superior, and I am the one with the power to send you anywhere in the virtual world, now please do as I command" Said Gilbert.

"Fine" Kirito said angrily. Then he switched off his teleportation ability off.

"Very good, now let's go" Said Gilbert.

Kirito and Gilbert walked for a while.

"Okay, time for a break, I'll dish out the food" Said Gilbert. Then he got out some food and a drink out from the main menu and tossed it to Kirito. Kirito drank some of the wine, but that was a big mistake, it had paralysed him. It wasn't wine at all, it was paralysis potion.

Gilbert laughed extremely hard.

"Gilbert you bastard! Said Kirito. He went to use an antidote but Gilbert kicked him in the side, making him drop it before he got the chance, Gilbert picked it up and smashed it on the ground, shattering it.

"The paralysis potion is a little gift from Kayaba" Said Gilbert.

"That bastard!" Said Kirito in anger.

Gilbert brought up the main menu and then brought up a side menu that Kirito had not seen before.

"What are you doing?" Asked Kirito.

"Oh just sending you into another game, the worst one I can find, now let's see, I could send you into one of the Hannah Montana games so you can sing girly for the rest of your life or I could send you into the slender man game, oh that would be very entertaining, watching you run for your life just before the slender man sends you to your inevitable death, let's go with slender man" Said Gilbert, and he was just about to send Kirito to the slender man game when Asuna stabbed him in the back, killing him.

"No one sends my boyfriend anywhere, especially not some nut!" Said Asuna.

"But you're mine Asu-Asuna…" Said Gilbert.

"Not a chance!" Said Asuna. When he disappeared into death Asuna healed Kirito. "I knew we couldn't trust that snake, I'm so glad you're still here, I need you here" Said Asuna, she hugged Kirito as tight as she could.

"Don't worry Asuna, he's gone now, nothing's going to happen to either of us" Said Kirito.


	22. Remembering Yui and being summoned

Kirito and Asuna met back up with the guild and decided to just chill out at their home.

"It's good to have you to back" Said Klein.

"Yeah, with the two of you back we'll be out of the virtual world in no time" Said Zeke.

"Yep, and we've got our friends back, that's important too, right Zeke?" Carly asked as she nudged Zeke.

"Oh right, well of course that too" Said Zeke.

"Hey, you know Kirito, I realised when you and Asuna were gone, how come I haven't seen Yui appear yet? We've been in this game for two years and she's still not here" Said Klein.

Kirito clenched his fists. "Yui… Yui was deleted" Said Kirito in anger.

"What? No way!" Said Klein.

Asuna started crying, Kirito put his arm around her. "Well she must have been because there is no trace of her in the game map and her hearts not even in my inventory" Said Kirito.

"I'm so sorry man, I had no idea" Said Klein.

"It's fine, but if Kayaba deleted her, then he will pay, I swear it!" Said Kirito in anger. Before Kirito began to think about Yui the guild got a message from Adrian.

_Warriors of Aura, your presence is needed in Port Skandia, please teleport there immediately, it is of great importance._

"Sounds pretty important" Said Kirito.

"Yeah, we'd better go now" Said Zeke.

"Teleport: Port Skandia" They all said.

Then they appeared in the centre of Port Skandia, the place was filled with all the players of Aura Kingdom.

"Ah good, the Warriors of Aura, that means all the players of Aura Kingdom are here, okay now, here's the situation, we found the boss room of area 75: World of shadows, but that's not all, we found out that boss is blocking a portal, now if I were to take a guess, I would say without a doubt that that portal leads to the dimensional belt" Said Adrian.

"But I thought Kayaba was going to make 100 areas in Aura Kingdom just like SAO" Said Kirito.

"Well maybe he is but I don't think so, I think that portal will lead us straight to the dimensional belt, in any case, we have to take the boss down anyway, but here's where it gets complicated, I sent a squad in to stake out the boss room, and they were all slaughtered, there was nothing anyone could do to stop it, it's an unstoppable creature, now all the players of Aura Kingdom need to band together and take down this boss! Does everyone agree?" Asked Adrian. Everyone nodded. "Very good, now let's go through that portal!" Said Adrian. Everyone cheered.


	23. The headless ghost

Everyone teleported to the world of shadows, this was an incredibly gloomy and scary looking place, covered in darkness and purple smoke filling the air.

"This place gives me the creeps" Said Asuna.

"Yeah, me too, so you're joining us too Agil?" Asked Kirito.

"Well we're all expected to pitch in, besides, it Adrian's right this might be our ticket to the final area" Said Agil.

"True" Said Kirito.

"Alright everyone, let's go" Said Adrian. Then everyone stepped through an archway with purple smoke filling it, on the other side was the boss, it was known as the headless ghost, and its name was well deserved, it was a pure see through ghost with no head.

"Kayaba broke his theme" Said Zeke.

"Well Kayaba Akihiko is known not to be the most patient man in the world" Said Kirito.

"Attack!" Shouted Adrian. And everyone followed his orders and charged in and attacked the ghost. But no attacks went through for ages; everyone's weapons just went right through the ghost.

"This is ridiculous, how are we ever gonna beat this thing?" Asked Zeke. But then one of his attacks got through, piercing through the ghosts health bar, it had two of them.

"Wait, I get it now, I see the pattern, the ghost becomes solid every twenty seconds, okay, when you see it become solid, everyone attack at once" Said Kirito. So everyone listened to Kirito's instructions, when it became solid everyone attacked it at once, bringing its first hp bar into the yellow. But this wasn't completely good, it made the ghost angry, it went into two of the players and destroyed them inside out.

"No way! It can get inside you and take you out from the inside! No wonder those people that checked it out all died, not only did they not know when to attack it, but it's extremely deadly" Said Kirito.

The ghost went on the attack, wiping out players by the dozen.

"We can't even get near it!" Said Agil.

"This is bad" Said Zeke.

The ghost was about to attack another person.

"Get back!" Shouted Kirito. Then he noticed the ghost was solid again.

"Everyone attack!" Shouted Kirito. Then after some hesitation, everyone attacked the ghost at once, bringing its first hp bar into the red.

"We just have to stay back until it's solid, we can do it!" Said Kirito. So that's what everyone did, they stayed away from it as best they could until it became solid again, then they all attacked, of course there were many casualties, that couldn't be avoided, but eventually they defeated the headless ghost, in the end there were only 300 players were left out of the 1,000 players that could fit in the boss room.

_CONGRATULATIONS!_

"Okay, we have no time to hang around, let's see what's on the other side of that portal" Said Adrian, then they all went through the portal…


	24. The racked tatelo

It was true; on the other side of the portal was the dimensional belt. The dimensional belt looked like a big huge orange coloured galaxy.

"I knew it! The dimensional belt! All we have to do is take down the final boss here and we're through with this game" Said Adrian. Everyone cheered.

"Yeah, but don't forget guys, after that we have to find Kayaba and take him down before we get trapped in the virtual world forever" Zeke said to the members of the Warriors of Aura. After making their way through the dimensional belt and the strange creatures dwelling within it, they finally made it to the boss room.

"Okay everyone, listen up, through this door lies the final boss of Aura Kingdom, it's all or nothing from here on in, now, let's do it!" Said Adrian, then everyone cheered and stormed into the boss room which was called the dimensional hall. There they came face to face with the final boss of Aura Kingdom. It was known as the racked tatelo.

"Wow, this was the original boss in the beta, I didn't get that far but I saw its data file, so there's one boss Kayaba didn't change" Said Kirito.

"Stop admiring it and take it down!" Said Zeke.

"Oh right" Said Kirito.

Then all the players of Aura Kingdom leapt into action, waving their swords as hard and fast as they could against the massive bulky beast. The beast countered all of their attacks with its massive axe, the players only got a rare few hits in on the beast, which were barely doing any damage, it only had one health bar but that was all it needed. But still the players advanced, trying to avoid the beasts axe swings as much as possible, so far only a few people had died, it was a good thing the players were all so tense for this battle, it helped them be more careful against the beast. They all charged as hard as they could, some players getting some really good hits in against the beast, but its health bar was still in the green, almost in the yellow but it would still be a while before it would be in the yellow, and it was beginning to kill more players, because it was getting more ferocious and the players were getting more tired by the minute. The beast got more and more deadly with each swing of its axe, killing more and more players by the second. The players who managed to block the axe ended up flying across the room, just barely surviving the weight of the great axe. Even though their forces were beginning to wear thin the players still kept striking at the beast, eventually bringing its health bar into the yellow.

"Okay, everyone stay back!" Shouted Kirito.

"Kirito tell me you're not going to do what I think you are" Said Zeke with concern.

"No you're not!" Said Klein with worry.

"It will bring its hp straight into the red now that it's in the yellow" Said Kirito.

"Yeah and it'll bring your hp straight into the red to, it's too dangerous" Said Klein.

"Klein's right Kirito, we're fine doing this the way we are now" Said Zeke.

"No, we're not Zeke! Our forces are growing thinner and thinner by the second, we were lucky to get its hp into the yellow without our forces getting completely blown away, we'll never get it into the red normally, I have to do it!" Said Kirito.

"Well if that's how you really feel" Said Zeke.

"It is" Said Kirito, then he got ready to use his special skill.

"Kirito no!" Asuna screamed out at the top of her lungs.

"Cosmic flare!" Kirito shouted, and then the bright light appeared from his sword and blew the beasts' hp into the red. Kirito tried to get out of its way as soon as he struck at the beast but he was too late, it sliced through his chest with its axe.

"Kirito no!" Asuna screamed out as she began to burst into tears. But, somehow, Kirito got up, his hp wasn't gone, it was in the red.

"But how? I should have died, cosmic flare brings my hp straight into the red, then the beast attacked me, how could I have survived?" Kirito asked himself.

"I healed you as soon as you used cosmic flare" Said Yui as she appeared hovering beside Kirito looking like a pixie, similar to her Alfheim online appearance accept she was wearing pink.

"Y-Yui!" Kirito said in complete and utter shock, tears dropped from his eyes. "I thought you were deleted by Kayaba" Said Kirito.

"No, Kayaba Akihiko made me your eidolon" Said Yui.

"What's an eidolon?" Asked Kirito.

"You really didn't pay attention in the beta test did you papa? An eidolon is your spirit partner, Kayaba told me to wait until you really needed my help to come out or he'd delete me" Said Yui.

Kirito and Asuna ran up to Yui and hugged her tight, they were all as happy as could be, unfortunately the happy times would have to wait for a while, the other players still had their hands full with the tatelo beast.

"Sorry Yui, we'll have to talk later, we still have a boss to defeat" Said Kirito.

"Talk later darling" Said Asuna as she kissed Yui on the head.

Then Kirito and Asuna joined the fight again. The beast was more enraged than ever, of course now its prime target was Kirito, but all the other players of the game defended Kirito because even though he was willing to help in the battle he still had to heal. All of the players of Aura Kingdom swung again and again until finally at long last they defeated the racked tatelo. Everyone cheered incredibly loud.

"We've finally done it, we've finally finished the game, so now we have to get out of this game" Said Adrian, and he was about to go through the door that when the players went through would shut off the nerve gear and free them from the virtual world but Zeke grabbed him and stopped him.

"Have you forgotten something? Kayaba didn't just say that he was going to trap us in **this **game, he said when we escaped the nerve gear, he would shut it down just before we took it off our heads which would trap our minds inside the virtual world and then he would reset it and allow us to choose which game we wanted to spend the rest of our lives in, before we go through that door, we have to find Kayaba Akihiko" Said Zeke.

"Ah, what a clever young man, oh but I should tell you, there is one thing I forgot to mention about this game" Said Kayaba Akihiko as he looked in the real world as he walked up to all the players of Aura Kingdom.

"What now Kayaba?" Asked Zeke with great irritation.

"That creature was the final boss in the Aeria games version, but then thanks to the seed I took over the game and altered it, and in my version of Aura Kingdom, I am the final boss" Said Kayaba as he changed his in game title.

_Hades, god of the underworld._

"You said I'd broken my boss theme with the headless ghost Zeke, no, I only put it on hold, this is the ultimate Greek boss for this game, I may not look like him, but I am Hades, god of the underworld, defeat me, and you're free, fail, and my plan goes perfectly according to plan, and I assure you, I will not fail" Said Kayaba.


	25. Kirito vs Kayaba (The final battle)

_Authors note: Sorry, in truth this isn't the best chapter but I think the ending is pretty good, and I'm going to make a sequel story, I'm thinking of putting Kirito and friends in Skyrim, does everyone agree or do they want to have them in another game? Please let me know in the comments, it would be a great help._

"Now I want this to be between me and Kirito only or you will all automatically lose the game" Said Kayaba.

"That's nowhere near fair!" Said Zeke in anger.

"It's okay Zeke, so why exactly do you want it this way Kayaba?" Asked Kirito.

"Well we do have a score to settle from our last fight Kirito" Said Kayaba.

"Oh right, all right then, let's end this!" Said Kirito.

"Kirito no!" Everyone else in the guild said.

"It ends here guys, end of discussion" Said Kirito as he drew his weapon.

"Excellent, now prepare to lose to the power of Hades!" Said Kayaba, then the fight began.

Kayaba summoned the dead to distract Kirito while he defeated him but he had underestimated Kirito's abilities, Kirito took them all out in no time and then managed to get to Kayaba and attacked and attacked, getting his only hp bar into the yellow.

"Well played Kirito, however that was just a warm-up, now the real fun begins" Said Kayaba. Then he launched fireballs at Kirito and breathed fire at him.

"What? Is this a real power of Hades?" Asked Kirito in surprise.

"I have no idea but I know I like it" Said Kayaba.

Kirito and Kayaba attacked at each other again and again until eventually they were both in the red.

"Okay Kirito, it all comes down to this one last attack from each of us, and I assure you I will win" Said Kayaba.

"You've underestimated me for the last time Kayaba Akihiko" Said Kirito.

Then Kayaba launched a gigantic fireball at Kirito, but Kirito avoided it by an inch, then he struck at Kayaba and defeated him.

"Yes! We did it, we won, and we completed Aura Kingdom!" Kirito shouted happily, everyone cheered.

"Yes Kirito, yes you did, but now you're going to be trapped in the virtual world forever, but don't worry, you can choose to live in any game you choose now that you've proven to me that people can live normally in the virtual world" Said Kayaba.

"No Kayaba, because I'm taking you down now once and for all!" Said Kirito, then he ran at Kayaba but he disappeared.

"Sorry Kirito, if you want another chance at me then you're going to have to find me, but there's no guarantee that I will be in the game you choose, and of course if you do find me then there's no guarantee that I'm going to release you from the virtual world if you defeat me, so I'm afraid you're trapped, goodbye Kirito" Said Kayaba. Then all of the players of Aura Kingdom began to disappear.

"No! Guys!" Said Kirito in despair.

"Kirito!" All the guild members said in equal despair.

"Kirito, we have to stay together!" Said Asuna.

"Asuna!" Shouted Kirito as he reached his hand out to Asuna's, but they both disappeared with everyone else before their hands could touch.

Everything went black, Kirito could feel the nerve gear on his head, he tried to take it off but then the feel of the nerve gear went away, it had been shut down, and then it rebooted.

"_Hello, welcome to the game hub, please choose a game to live in" _Said the virtual computer.

Is this it? Will Kirito and his friends be trapped in the virtual world forever or will they escape from Kayaba's mad world and escape?

To be continued… 


End file.
